An Apology, an Update, and the Fate of Aenea

Hi, folks.

I know, I know. It looks like I just dropped off the face of the world. I apologize for that...because it's kind of what happened when it comes to Neverwinter Nights and Aenea.

I got hit with a huge case of NWN burnout...much worse than when I was working on Project Reforged and stopped doing things for a month. This time around, I put it down to a combination of things:
- The server population had dwindled to the point that maybe one person would log in for a few minutes a day on average.
- With NWN:EE being released and people moving to it rapidly, I did not feel motivated to go through the process of updating everything to work with their new servervault setup and recheck scripts and specialized server-side plugins for compatibility (I'm no programmer beyond html and NWScript).
- Remember the updated trees, grasses, and other terrain I was working on? Hundreds of hours of work with little desire to use it when I was just about done.
- I was basically the only person working on the CEP, running the CCC, and keeping up with the NWN community site. A lot of work on those that didn't even make it to Aenea.
- The server that Aenea had been running on since January 2009 died. The hard drive was trashed, and someone I took it to could only recover some of the servervault and database data (those database files were monsters).
- Real life was both busier and more enjoyable than when I lived in Arizona. Going outdoors, gaming in person, along with more out-of-house parent duties and a better house to take care of, took a lot of time.

My brain was just done with NWN for a while. I really didn't think about it, even once, for at least six months. Afterward, it remained something that stayed around, but not something I had a current interest in working on.

I took up playing and DMing real D&D again. NWN had been the closest thing to the real deal on a computer, but tabletop D&D was always my true calling to the genre.

Aenea began its existence as my pencil and paper campaign world back in high school (2nd edition D&D), changed a bit as I grew and needed new stuff (3rd edition), made the jump to NWN when my in-person D&D games fizzled due to parenthood, and it has now returned to D&D (5th edition) with two ongoing weekly campaigns. Just as Aenea was the introduction to NWN for several players, it has become the introduction to D&D for the 10 players in those two games.

Where in the past I made a ton of stuff for Aenea and posted a lot of things on the neverwintervault.org site, now I create and post hundreds of D&D 5e homebrews on one big list.

I will not be returning to working on NWN stuff. I've re-found the freedom to create and improvise (especially improvise) for real D&D games, and trying to work within the limits of a game engine (even one as wonderful as NWN) would not work for me anymore.

I am keeping the Aenea PW module to myself. I've drawn on it for my 5e games and for some of my D&D homebrew. I may look into publishing a D&D book in the future, so it's best to be the only one in control of the story/world content I wrote.

The forum will remain online and open for as long as the service it's on (Forumotion) remains, and the Discord server is also still up for people that want to keep in contact with each other there.

I find it wonderful that people have fond memories of their time playing in Aenea. The biggest thing I ever wanted out of this PW was for people to have fun. I may have provided the stage, but it was you, the players, that made it something everyone here will remember.

- Nathan
The Amethyst Dragon

As y'all can see, has weighed in on the fate of Aenea. Like so many of you here, I have many fond memories of playing in the world. Personally, I have found some substitutions (mostly by tinkering with existing mods in the toolset, and working on one of my own), but nothing will ever replace the real deal.

I cannot speak for any of y'all. For me, this was not the outcome I had hoped for, but I am happy to have the closure of 's words. I will always lurk on these forums, chatting with folks, celebrating birthdays, holidays, etc., for as long as they are open. If any wants to stop by and talk story, I'll be around!

In the meanwhile, take care of yourselves and be the best yous!

Eric

And , I am so thankful that you did all that you did in NwN. You gave us many years of enjoyment, and for that I am beyond grateful! I am glad that you have found a renewed passion for tabletop DnD, and creating in that environment! As daveyeisley suggested all those years ago, mayhaps we could someday trek across the country and meet together to have a RL jaunt through Aenea! Dare to dream, yes?

Again, , mahalo for everything you did for us!

Thanks .
All is good.
There are always alternate avenues for a break from reality. WOT it is for me. Therapeutic High explosive release.

cheers, and good luck

Ramir wrote:Thanks .
All is good.
There are always alternate avenues for a break from reality. WOT it is for me. Therapeutic High explosive release.

cheers, and good luck

Friend Ramir!  Howzit?

And what, may I ask, is WOT?  World of Tanks?

Thank you Nathan. As a person that has all-consuming passions at times, I can understanding how they can be satisfying, overwhelming, and a source of guilt. Sometimes all at the same time.

I am blessed to have made acquaintances while at Aenea and enjoyed many wonderful hours in its environs crafted by your imagination and attention to detail.

You took a relatively basic game and transformed it into something so much more.

When I discuss your accomplishments and what Aenea provided a player *for free* people find it remarkable that such a thing existed, especially during its era.

I just this month began a 1st ed Advanced D&D campaign with a re-skinned Fren in homage to Fren Hilg. In this incarnation she is "Dark Fae" in lieu of demonspawn, but her personality traits are the same.

Thank you for the gift of a rich world where I could discover narratives of my personas and in the process learn more about myself.

- JT
odbo255
Fren Hilg
DM Beowulf

Hi ,

I just wanted to thank you for sharing Aenea with us and me. I had a great time, made some friends, and consider Aenea one of my best D&D experiences. I wish you all the best.

Although I am saddened to hear that Aenea will not be returning to life, I want to give you my most sincere THANKS for the MANY, MANY, MANY hours of enjoyment you provided for myself and all the rest of the Aenean family.

Much love to you and if you do write a book make sure you let us know here on the forum.

I wish all of you the best

Well, I will miss Aenea, and the many good times we had in your world. I do understand that seasons change, and life goes on. I want to thank you for all the hard work you did and I hope that you have every success going forward. I also hope you are able to create a book set in Aenea, that would be tremendous. I plan to retire at the end of the year and get back to work on my fantasy novel. If I am able to get it to a place that I am satisfied to publish it, I will let the crew here know. I hope you will let us know if you get to a publishable place as well. Thanks again for all the great times and for creating and hosting a world for the many years you did.

Aenea was the most beautiful NWN1 world I've ever experienced, and it will be missed.

Your custom content is still appreciated and being incorporated into new NWNEE PWs.

BTW, what is the link for that Aenea Discord server you mentioned?

Regards and best wishes for wherever life takes you!